Brian Prince

WhiteHat Security’s latest report on Web site vulnerabilities has found the Internet in slightly better shape-emphasis on slightly. In the fifth installment of the “WhiteHat Website Security Statistics Report,” the company has found that 82 percent of the 687 Web sites assessed by the company have had at least one security issue since WhiteHat began […]

The passcode feature on the latest version of Apple’s iPhone can be bypassed, potentially allowing an unauthorized person to access data on the device if it is lost or stolen. The issue was posted to a MacRumors.com discussion forum and affects iPhone 2.02. Users can lock the iPhone with a four-digit passcode to limit access […]

MessageLabs has acquired United Kingdom-based Fortium ICA Limited in a bid to broaden its ability to enforce e-mail security policies using image composition analysis. The acquisition, made for an undisclosed sum, is intended to strengthen MessageLabs’ position as a provider of SAAS (software-as-a-service) security solutions. MessageLabs was an early investor in Fortium ICA, which operated […]

Hackers are launching attacks against Linux-based computing infrastructures using compromised SSH [Secure Shell] keys and installing rootkits, according to a warning by the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team. According to US-CERT, the attack uses stolen SSH keys to access a system and then local kernel exploits to gain root access. At that point, a rootkit […]

Aster Data Systems and data warehousing vendor Greenplum have added support for Google’s MapReduce framework in the name of data analytics for enterprises. The move by Greenplum comes as Aster Data Systems unveiled In-Database MapReduce, which is available now for evaluation. “Traditionally, massively parallel [processing] databases were able to parallelize ordinary SQL, but had limitations […]

Criticize the people behind the Asprox botnet, and they take it personal-so much so that they will bombard you with malware, according to a report by SecureWorks. The botnet, now at least 50,000-strong with bots, is sending out phishing e-mails posing as messages from banks in the United States and United Kingdom. The links inside […]

A federal grand jury has indicted a Brazilian man for his role in the proliferation of the infamous Shadow botnet. Leni de Abreu Neto of Taubate, Brazil, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to cause damage to computers worldwide by a federal grand jury in New Orleans for his role in a conspiracy to […]

Between the press attention and the release of attack code for the Domain Name System protocol flaw revealed in July, DNS security has been front and center for many in the industry. Concerns about the DNS bug, discovered earlier this year by security researcher Dan Kaminsky, have revived interest in DNSSEC (domain name server security […]

Data warehousing vendor Netezza has been very busy of late, first acquiring NuTech Solutions in May and then purchasing technology from Intelligent Integration Systems (IISi) just two weeks ago. Both moves are aimed at building out Netezza’s technology as the company clashes with competitors such as Oracle and Teradata in the data warehousing market. At […]

Data protection providers McAfee and Wave Systems have their eyes on Intel-based devices this week during the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco. Both companies made announcements this week aimed squarely at helping customers better secure laptops and other devices. In the case of McAfee, the company announced Wednesday it will provide integrated data encryption […]

Security firm Guardian Analytics is banking on behavioral modeling to beef up authentication and protect online financial transactions against fraud and identity theft. The company has extended what it calls dynamic account modeling. With its technology, now inside its recently launched FraudMAP 2.0 product, the Los Altos, Calif.-based company models individual account holder activity session […]

A federal judge decided today not to extend the gag order imposed on three students to prevent them from releasing details of vulnerabilities in the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority ticketing system. The three students-Zack Anderson, RJ Ryan and Alessandro Chiesa-all hail from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and were set to reveal details of their […]